AG files Greenpoint oil spill suit

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo today filed suit against ExxonMobil over the company’s failure to properly and expediently clean up a decades-old oil spill in Greenpoint. At least 8 million gallons of oil and petroleum byproducts are believed to be sitting under the Brooklyn neighborhood because of the Exxon spill, which was discovered in the late ’70s. The suit, first announced in February, seeks the termination of oil spills into Newtown Creek, an investigation to determine the scope of environmental contamination in the area, cleanup of contaminated groundwater and soil, as well as financial penalties. In a statement, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis said, “The Greenpoint contamination is one of the worst urban pollution problems in the nation and at this point requires aggressive enforcement action.” TRD